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Thursday, Mar 14, 2019 Happy π day!

The folks at Humble proudly
announce the
chance to get GRID 2 for free to those who subscribe to the Humble
Bundle newsletter. Word is: "Subscribe to the Humble Bundle newsletter and we'll
email your free game to you. Hurry, this offer is available only while supplies
last, or until March 17 at 10 a.m. Pacific time!" The freebie comes with some
free DLC as well, as the offer includes the Bathurst and Spa circuits. Here's a
refresher racecourse:

Be fast, be first and be famous as the race returns
in GRID 2, the sequel to the BAFTA-award winning, multi-million selling Race
Driver: GRID. Experience aggressive racing against advanced AI and become
immersed in the race with GRID 2’s new TrueFeel™ Handling system which powers
edge of control exhilaration behind the wheel of every iconic car. The next
generation of the EGO Game Technology Platform delivers genre-defining visuals
and jaw-dropping damage as you prove yourself across three continents in a new,
evolving world of motorsport. Earn fame, fans and fortune as you blaze your way
to the top in intense, relentless races on licensed circuits, beautifully
realised city streets and lethal mountain roads. GRID 2 will also set the new
standard for multiplayer racing with innovative modes, an entirely separate
progression system and deep integration with RaceNet, the free online extension
for Codemasters Racing games.

A big
SEGA publisher weekend sale on Steam offers discounts on a bunch of games
(this is an extended week-long version of a weekend by the way). One of these is
Two Point Hospital, and the promotion includes the chance to play this game of
medical malpractice for free all weekend. Word is: "Plus, Play
Two Point Hospital for
FREE starting now through Monday at 10am Pacific Time. Two Point Hospital will
also be releasing new content for the game throughout the weekend!"
This trailer
celebrates the news, and here's word on the game:

Build up a hospital
from nothing to a masterpiece as you design the most beautiful – or functional –
healthcare operation in the whole of Two Point County.

Optimise your hospital design to increase patient (and cash) flow, arranging
corridors, rooms and waiting areas to your exact specifications. Expand your
hospital to multiple buildings as you look to get as many patients through the
door as possible.

Place decorative and functional items around your hospital to improve its
prestige, lower patient boredom, increase happiness and keep those end of year
awards flowing in.

A free weekend is underway
on Steam for
Faeria, a strategic deck-building game for Windows, macOS, and Linux. In
addition to the chance to play the game for free between now and Sunday, you can
also pick up a copy at a 50% discount until Monday in a sale that also includes
the chance to get DLC for 60-65% off. Here's word on the game:

Faeria is
a digital collectible card and turn-based strategy game that takes place on a
dynamic playing board set in a fantasy universe. With its unique living board,
Faeria is a strategy game like no other, players can craft exciting decks and
shape the battlefield as they fight epic battles, raise mountains, build
forests, fill lakes, or harness the sands of the deserts during play. Players
can choose their own path to victory.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and
Turtle Rock Studios today announced Back 4 Blood, from the creators and
development team behind the critically acclaimed, co-op phenomenon Left 4 Dead.
Back 4 Blood is designed from the ground-up as an original, premium title and
marries the best of what made the co-op zombie shooter so successful with new
features and state-of-the-art technology.

“We are thrilled to partner with the proven Turtle Rock Studios team on Back 4
Blood to advance the co-op zombie genre forward with innovative multiplayer
gameplay,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
“The talented team at Turtle Rock has been developing amazing games together for
a long time, and this is a great opportunity to work with them to create a new
gaming universe built specifically with the large co-op zombie shooter community
in mind.”

“It’s hard to overstate what an awesome opportunity this is. We get to return to
a genre that was born in our studio with over ten years of additional experience
and zombie ideas racked up in our brains,” said Chris Ashton, Co-founder and
Design Director, Turtle Rock Studios. “We also have some of the best teammates
in the business at WBIE who understand our development process and are equally
committed to our player-first mentality. We love being able to announce, so we
can start working with the community right away.”

“We are not resting on any past laurels. Our goal is to take all we’ve learned
and push forward. We know that’s a tall order,” said Phil Robb, Co-founder and
Creative Director, Turtle Rock Studios. “We’re growing the team considerably
because we’re stepping up to the biggest challenge in this studio’s history. We
know this title has to stand out and we fully intend to make that
happen.”

The Sniper Elite Website announces
plans for no fewer than four new Sniper Elite games, including Sniper Elite
V2 Remastered, a sequel to Sniper Elite 4, a standalone virtual
reality game, and Sniper Elite 3 Ultimate Edition for Nintendo Switch. Here's
the plan:

Today, we announced some exciting news for Sniper Elite fans –
four new Sniper Elite projects, including a much-demanded follow-up to the
BAFTA-nominated Sniper Elite 4, are currently in development!

If you haven’t watched it yet, check out the ‘Sniper Elite Development Update’
video, in which Rebellion CEO and Co-Founder Jason Kingsley OBE confirmed the
following Sniper Elite projects;

Sniper Elite V2 Remastered, bringing 1945 Berlin
to current platforms, with stunning new visuals and a host of new features

Sniper Elite 3 Ultimate Edition on Switch
introduces Karl’s breath-taking North African adventure to a Nintendo
platform for the first time ever.

A new, standalone Sniper Elite game for VR
devices, currently in development in partnership with Oddworld studio Just
Add Water.

The next major title in the Sniper Elite series,
following in the footsteps of the widely acclaimed Sniper Elite 4, is now in
development.

Look for a full reveal of the new Sniper Elite game for VR devices later this
year, while more details on the next major title in the Sniper Elite series will
be unveiled in 2020. We know that’s a little while off – but we wanted to let
you, the fans, know that we’ve heard your pleas and are hard at work on
something that will entertain and delight you.

Until then, welcome to the brand-new Sniper.com! We’ve spent a lot of time
putting together the series’ new home on the internet, so take some time to have
a look around and explore it!

A tweet
from the Battlefield announces the Firestorm will hit Battlefield V on March
25th, bringing the battle royale to the latest installment in this military
shooter series. This includes a
an official reveal
trailer showing off Firestorm gameplay to a remix of a theme-appropriate
Talking Heads classic. Word is:

Watch the official Battlefield V Firestorm Reveal Trailer — a new Battle
Royale mode available to all Battlefield V players on March 25.

Daedalic Entertainment announces A Year Of Rain, their first internally
developed multiplayer real-time strategy game which they boldly say "aims to
revive" the genre. This will enter Early Access later this year, and here is
more of what they have to say about the plan:

Daedalic Entertainment is
delighted to announce its first internally developed multiplayer real-time
strategy game, A Year Of Rain. The game features heroes, an extensive story mode
and a heavy emphasis on team gameplay. It will go into early access for PC later
this year.

A Year Of Rain combines classic real-time strategy elements with a strong focus
on hero units. Both the co-op campaigns and online and offline modes are being
designed with a team of two in mind, whether you play with a human or AI player.
The classic 2v2 skirmish mode is being developed for competitive matches from
the very start. Meanwhile, “Against all Odds“ is an innovation in the genre
where two lone heroes face two entire armies, who have full command of units and
structures.

In this team RTS, you can choose one of three rival factions and become immersed
in gameplay mixing base-building, resource-gathering, and unit-training.
Structures and units can be upgraded in order to enhance efficiency and power.
With your carefully assembled army led by a legendary hero, you will be able to
fight alongside the noble House Rupah, the Wild Outcasts or join the Restless
Undead. A battle without mercy begins!

“A Year Of Rain is set to be one of the largest games we have developed to date
and marks our first steps into the esports arena. We are aware of the various
complex challenges this genre entails. I am proud to be able to support our dev
team with their dream project,” says Carsten Fichtelmann, CEO and founder of
Daedalic Entertainment.

A Year Of Rain will enter early access on PC in 2019 featuring one initial
campaign and several multiplayer modes. The game will continuously be expanded
on and supported post-launch, including various new features, content and more.

Stardock announces a Founder's Program for
Siege of Centauri,
saying this will get underway on March 28th, offering participants the chance to
play the beta version of the upcoming tower defense game. Everyone who
purchases Siege
of Centauri from their website is entitled to join the beta. Also, Ashes of
the Singularity Lifetime Founders will receive the new game for free, but we did
not receive a timely reply to our question about whether that means they'll get
beta access too. Here's their word on the game and its testing:

Set in
the Ashes of the Singularity universe, the player takes on the role of commander
of the defense of Earth's first colony on Proxima Centauri. Stardock's new take
on the classic genre comes by leveraging its new game engine, first seen in
Ashes of the Singularity™ and more recently in Star Control®: Origins.

"With tens of thousands of enemy machines pouring toward your base, we want to
give players a very new experience of what it means to defend yourselves against
overwhelming odds," said Derek Paxton, lead designer of Siege of Centauri. "It
takes little explaining to the player on the benefits between a rail gun that
fires 1 deadly round every 10 seconds, and a high-speed plasma arc array that
does low damage, but to dozens of enemies at once, when you can visibly see a
huge mothership surrounded by hundreds of escorts coming at you."

The veteran strategy game developer is also incorporating some strategic
elements to the genre, such as defending resources and deploying fast response
teams to battle.

"Another feature we're pretty excited about is separating resource gathering
from enemy destruction," said Paxton. "You are, literally, dealing with
overwhelming enemy forces while simultaneously having to make some tough choices
on what areas of a given map you need to defend and which ones you need to just
let go in order to safeguard your resource production.”

The Founder's program is designed to allow fans of the genre to get early input
into game mechanics, pacing, and balance.

"There are a lot of interesting questions that we want to engage with our fans
with before final release," said Paxton. "And with this genre so popular, it
presents such a great opportunity to tap into that collective
experience.

With Tom Clancy's The Division 2 set to divide and conquer tomorrow, Ubisoft offers
a new trailer
answering the question "What is the Division 2?" The description says this
includes vital information, while touting the chance to get early access for a
remaining few hours: "Here is everything you need to know before jumping into
The Division 2, out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC March 15. Get early access
with Gold or Ultimate Edition." The clip is in ultra widescreen format, but
they spoil the effect with both letterboxes and pillarboxes. Continue here to read the full story.

Valve celebrates the coming of the Game Developers Conference with the launch of
two new services on Steam. Here are details on the beta of Steam Link Anywhere
and the release of Steam Networking Sockets APIs:

As the industry
prepares for next week's GDC, Valve has launched two new service features for
Steam - Steam Link Anywhere and the Steam Networking Sockets APIs.

Steam Link Anywhere, an extension of the Steam Link functionality that allows
you to connect to your computer and play games from anywhere, is now available
in early beta. The service is available free of charge to all Steam users
through the Steam Link hardware or the Steam Link app, and can be used to
connect to any computer running Steam. Note: A high upload speed from your
computer and strong network connection to your Steam Link device are required to
use Steam Link Anywhere. More information is available here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/0/3362406825533023360/

Today Valve also released the Steam Networking Sockets APIs, which give all
Steam developers access to the technologies and infrastructure built to support
CS:GO and Dota 2. This enables you to relay your game traffic over Valve's
private gaming network, giving your players faster and more secure connections.
The service is offered free of charge to Steam developers and a large portion of
the API has been open-sourced. A more detailed write may be found here:
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks#announcements/detail/1791775741704351698

Available now, these updates and other new features coming to Steam will be
discussed at next Thursday's Steam Platform Update talk at GDC, happening at
12:45 pm in Moscone West Hall 2011.

Gearbox
tweets a second game tease following a first
one widely thought to be for Borderlands 3 (thanks
Game Informer). This offers an image that looks like a sci-fi autopsy in
progress along with a confirmation that this is a game tease: "Time to tease
another game for PAX!" PAX East gets underway two weeks from today, so we should
know more soon enough. Continue here to read the full story.

Heatblur's DCS F-14 Tomcat DLC for DCS World has launched (thanks Numinar). This can be picked up
on Steam for the DCS
World Steam Edition and from the
DCS E-Shop and the
Heatblur Store
for the non-Steam version of the virtual battlefield. There's a post in
the DCS forums
also mentioning where to buy this in Russia and South Korea, and warning that
keys picked up from sketchy sellers will not work, saying, "Any DCS World keys
purchased from other sources are invalid and are simply trying to re-sell keys
that are bound to other users or purchased through fraud. Such sites include
Kinguin, CDExpress and G2A." Ride into the danger zone in
this launch trailer
and read on for the full flight plan:

The F-14 Tomcat was a two-crew,
variable geometry, maritime air superiority fighter that served with the US Navy
for 32 years and continues to serve with the IRIAF in Iran. The F-14 was the US
Navy's frontline fighter from the 1970s until the mid 2000s. Over the course of
its long service life it also became the US Navy’s premier precision
ground-attack platform and lone airborne reconnaissance asset.

Outstanding features of the aircraft are the swing-wing configuration, crew of
two, and the powerful AN/AWG-9 Weapons Control System (WCS) and radar. The AWG-9
allows employment of the powerful AIM-54 Phoenix air to air missile while the
LANTIRN pod allows the ability to carry out precision ground strikes using laser
guided bombs. The F-14 Tomcat was present during many pivotal historic moments
such as the two Gulf of Sidra incidents, Operation Desert storm in Iraq, the
conflict in Yugoslavia, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation
Iraqi Freedom. It was also immortalized in the iconic motion picture, Top Gun,
and starred in several other feature films including The Final Countdown,
Executive Decision, and others.

A
post to the AnthemTheGame Reddit from user harishcs offers frank criticisms
of Anthem, discussing what's gone on since the launch of BioWare's
action/RPG. This is very lengthy, and is intended to be constructive, as noted
in the intro, which says, "I am going to preface by saying this will be a long
post, none of what you're about to read comes from a place of hatred, please
understand that every one of these concerns comes from a place of compassion and
hope." In that spirit, the
reply from BioWare community manager Darokaz offers thanks for the questions
this raises, and attempts to answer them. His conclusion remains optimistic:
"All I’ll say on this is that Anthem is here to stay. Do we have a lot of work
to do to fix parts of the game? Yes, and the team is committed to making
improvements and releasing new content." Here's the reply:

First, I want
to thank you for writing this up. I appreciate the honesty of how you (and
others) feel about the current state of things. I also want to say that I can’t
talk about everything, simply because it is not my area of expertise, or because
I don’t have the information you’re looking for. I stand by our statement of
being transparent though and will continue to do so here and on other channels.

Now, I want to address some of your points that I can:

Communication -
Pre-game release vs Post game release –
To start, things used to be a lot friendlier here for dev team members who
normally don’t talk on social channels or forums. They could answer questions,
give information and know that they aren’t going to have people getting upset at
them. Why would a dev team member take time away from working on the next update
to post when they know it’s likely to be met with hostile replies, or they get
flamed because can’t answer other questions that players are asking? I don’t
mind posting here when things aren’t so nice, but that’s because it’s my job.
For the devs it isn’t their job, and I’d like to ask that people remember that
when replying to them. When some people say “be nice or the devs will stop
posting” it’s 100% true. Be respectful and constructive with your feedback and
more team members will likely reply.

Aggravating the community by acknowledging trivial things over major issues –
I have been acknowledging issues that aren’t the major ones you mentioned, but
that’s because I can quickly check in on those and work with the team to see how
fast we can get them fixed. I also report major issues, but until I get word
back on them there is nothing else I can say. Issues like the Masterwork Embers
not dropping I can quickly bring to the attention of the team and we can get
fixed. I think it’s better that I address the things I can as quickly as I can
instead of nothing at all. Also, I try to avoid saying “thanks for the feedback,
I’ll share with the team” too many times in reply to posts 😊

Loot though? All I can do is point out what studio leadership shares on
channels. They are very aware of all the conversation going on around loot and
when they have more details to share, they will.

The
Microsoft Store now offers the Wireless Display to allow Windows and Android
programs and apps to be streamed to an Xbox One (thanks
The Verge). This includes the ability to play OC games on the console,
though this must be done completely through a controller, as it does not yet
support keyboard and mouse input, though this may change, especially in light of
the recent addition of keyboard and mouse support to the Xbox One itself. Here's
word on this beta release:

The same casting experience available on
Microsoft's Surface Hub and Windows has finally arrived on Xbox One!
Microsoft's Wireless Display app lets you wirelessly project your Windows or
Android based devices to your Xbox One.

Instantly share photos you've just taken with
family and friends without having the photos sync through a cloud service.

Share video clips you’ve recorded with family and
friends

Project your favorite websites with Microsoft Edge
to the biggest screen in your house

Mirror your Android games to your TV so your
friends can watch

Play your PC games on your Xbox while using the
Xbox controller as a gamepad

Use your PC on your Xbox One and use the Xbox
controller as a mouse/keyboard

Note: Projecting protected content, like Netflix and Hulu are not
supported

Grinding Gear Games announces plans to celebrate of Path of Exile later
this year with ExileCon. This convention will gather fans of their
action/RPG in New Zealand on November 16th and 17th for tournaments,
announcements, and more. For those unwilling or unable to be exiled down under
for the weekend, the proceedings will be streamed online as well. The
ExileCon Website notes the
announcements will include multiple future expansions, including a December 2019
3.9.0 expansion and a 4.0.0 "mega-expansion." Here's word:

Grinding Gear
Games announced today the first convention dedicated to their award-winning RPG,
Path of Exile. ExileCon will be a two-day (November 16-17, 2019) celebration of
all things Path of Exile, including multiple earth-shaking announcements and
previews, competitions, talks given by Grinding Gear Games developers and hands
on demos of unreleased new content. The event culminates with the spectacular
closing ExileCon Party.

ExileCon will take place over two full days at the beautiful Aotea Centre in
Auckland. Regular, VIP and "Ultra VIP" Tickets (featuring a homecooked BBQ
dinner with Grinding Gear founders Chris Wilson, Jonathan Rodgers and Erik
Olofsson) are available now alongside full details at
www.pathofexile.com/exilecon.

Path of Exile continues to be one of the largest online Action RPGs with
continual, massive audience growth. Launches on the Xbox One (and soon,
PlayStation 4) as well as in China have more than doubled the Path of Exile
player community since August 2017, with over 3.5 million players having played
the game's 2017 expansion, Path of Exile: The Fall of Oriath. In 2018, Path of
Exile saw an increase in total play-hours of over 26% and the Betrayal expansion
set a new record of 188,970 players online simultaneously.

Path of Exile was released in October 2013 to critical acclaim including winning
GameSpot's PC Game of the Year award. Since its launch, Path of Exile has become
a global community of over 20 million players including localized versions in
English, German, French, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Russian,
Thai and Brazilian Portuguese. Path of Exile was listed as one of the top ten
most-played games on Steam in 2018.

A tweet
from Overwatch announces the new healer will report for duty in Overwatch on
Tuesday. They offer a short animated GIF and word: "Everyone sign their life
insurance policies? 🗸 Baptiste reports for duty 03.19.19." Continue here to read the full story.

The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame is now available for macOS, offering more
gamers the chance to return to the land where everything is awesome. Macintosh
support is now part of past or future purchases
on Steam, and a copy can also be picked up through the
Feral Store (which includes a Steam key) or on the
Mac App Store for those who want this for the same price without Windows
support. Here's a list of Macs with full or partial support for this
release:

The LEGO® Movie 2 Videogame is supported on the following Macs:

All 13” MacBook Pros released since 2016

All 15" MacBook Pros released since Mid 2012 with
a 1GB graphics card or better

All MacBook Airs released since 2018

All Mac minis released since 2018

All 21.5” iMacs released since Late 2013 with a
2.3GHz processor or better

All 27” iMacs released since Late 2013

Late 2012 models with an Nvidia 675 or Nvidia 680
graphics card are also supported

All 27" iMac Pros released since Late 2017

All Mac Pros released since Late 2013

The following Macs are capable of running the game but do not consistently
meet the standards required for official support.

Happy Pi Day! This is a wonderful convergence, celebrating the science of
mathematics and the magic of pie. As
shown in this article, the latter may be overtaking the former, as more and
more places are using the occasion to offer deals on all manner of pies,
including pastry pies, pizza pies, and pot pies. I guess it could be a point of
concern that this is being co-opted by commerce, but whatever the criticism you
might have for the focus on pie over pi, you certainly can't say it's
irrational.

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